The present invention relates to a guard for a spray applicator and more particularly relates to a guard attachable at the end of the wand of a spray applicator of the type commonly used by gardeners. The guard will confine the spray to prevent the spray from being applied to adjacent surfaces and plants.
It is customary for gardeners, both professional and amateur, to apply various types of fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and herbicides by spray applicators. Typically these spray applicators include a tank which contains the liquid to be sprayed. Often liquid is provided in concentrated form and is mixed with water and then poured into the tank. The tank may be of varying capacity from a gallon or two to one having a much larger volume. The contents of the tank may be pressurized either manually by a hand pump and in some cases may be pressurized using an air source such as an air compressor. A flexible hose is attached to the tank and is then connected to a feed tube which depends within the tank. A tubular wand at the end of the flexible hose is attached to a spray nozzle which is often adjustable to regulate the spray from a fan-shaped spray to a more concentrated stream. A valve having a lever is manually operable to control the flow from the nozzle.
When utilizing sprayers of this type, it is often desired to apply the spray only to a specific plant or area. However, because of wind conditions, or improper use of the spray device due to inattentiveness or carelessness, the spray may be applied to or drift onto adjacent plants or soil surfaces. This may be a particularly serious problem, especially when chemicals such as herbicides are being applied as the spray drifting to adjacent vegetation or over spraying may actually harm or kill adjacent vegetation. Therefore, even if the users of such equipment are extremely careful, unintended harm can result when spraying, particularly when using lawn, garden and agricultural chemicals. A further problem is that the spray that is discharged or released may be toxic and may be harmful to the individual using the device.
Therefore, in view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a type of device to direct and confine sprayed chemicals to a particular area and to prevent them from being released or discharged onto adjacent soil, vegetation or into the air where they may be harmful to individuals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,257 discloses a spray guard adapted for use with a lawn for spraying liquid onto vegetation. The wand has a cylindrical shaped discharge tube and a nozzle tip attached to the end of the discharge tube. The spray guard includes a dome having an open end provided with an aperture through which the discharge tube may selectively extend. The dome channels, directs and focuses spray emitted from the nozzle toward a relatively localized area.
While devices of the type as shown in the ""257 patent to some extent help to direct a localized spray and prevent an unintended release of the application of spray, they are not widely used as often because of inconvenience and unadaptability to a wide range of sprayers.
Accordingly, a need exists for a simple, inexpensive and effective guard for use in connection with sprayers of this type.
Briefly, the present invention provides a spray guard for use with a sprayer wand having a nozzle discharge. The spray guard of the present invention has an adaptor with a generally cylindrical body which defines a slot to allow the adaptor to be flexed sufficiently to be placed over the spray wand above the discharge nozzle and held in frictional engagement with the wand. The lower end of the adaptor is formed as a cylindrical skirt having securement means which in a preferred embodiment is an adhesive section with a peelable or removable strip covering around its lower edge. One or more panels are provided to the user in a flat or planar condition. The panels are generally semi-circular and made of a transparent, flexible material. The panels are assembled into a conical shape by engaging male and female fastener sections that are integrally formed along the diametral edge of the semi-circular panel. When assembled into a cone, the cone can then be attached to the adaptor at the securement means as by removing the peelable strip covering the adhesive on the lower edge of the adaptor and inserting the adaptor into the cone so the body of the adaptor extends from the upper end of the cone. The cone may be provided with trim lines along its lower edge so that it may be cut to a various sizes by the user. The device can easily be removably attached to the lower end of the sprayer applicator wand above the nozzle to control and confine the area to which the spray is applied. In an alternate embodiment, mechanical fasteners may be used to detachably secure the adaptor to the shield.